How far would you go to fight evil?
How much of yourself do you give to the effort, and will there be anything left
when the struggle is over? For Gunnar Sønsteby, Norwegian war hero, there was
only the mission: Disrupt the German occupation of his homeland by any means
necessary. This single-mindedness kept him alive and helped enormously in the
war effort, but it is the brief moment where he finally lets life in that Number
24 is at its most satisfying.
Number 24 (also
referred to as Nr. 24 in various places) is a story told in
two eras. The primary focus for much of the film is on Sønsteby as a young man
(played by Sjur Vatne Brean) as he sabotages the Nazi occupation of Oslo during
World War II, while the elder version (Erik Hivju) narrates things in the 2000s
(or possibly the ‘10s). At first I found this framing superfluous; indeed, it
has the unfortunate side effect of robbing the WWII story of some of its
suspense, as even those who aren’t familiar with the real-life Gunnar Sønsteby
can pretty easily conclude that he survives. But by the last few minutes the
latter-day story is the emotional driver of the movie as Sønsteby lets his
guard down just the one time decades after the war has ended. The film never
insinuates that Number 24 (his wartime codename) is anything other than heroic
for his inflexible resolve, even when his duty forces him to make the hard
choices, but reminds us that life must be lived even while it is being fought
for. Number 24 could have done more to make these choices seem
more difficult to Gunnar, if anything, but if the actual person didn’t have a
hard time with some of his actions then I suppose it would be a disservice to
make the fictional version doubt himself.
Number 24 manages
to find tension and excitement even with the knowledge that our main character
survives. Sjur Vatne Brean gives a strong performance as our main Sønsteby,
which was not an easy thing to pull off when stoicism and professionalism are
the character’s primary traits. He does not appear to ever open up to anyone,
so he never opens up to the audience, but Brean manages to make Gunnar Sønsteby
a compelling primary character nonetheless.
The music choices are interesting if questionable—the use of
Radiohead's Exit Music (For a Film) works well emotionally but
feels out of place, and the song that plays during the final scene and first
batch of credits (I couldn’t find a name) makes the pivotal scene of the elder
Sønsteby laying down his war feel a bit corny and saccharine. But Number
24 is an impressive and effective film overall, managing to distill
one man’s life (or at least a decent chunk of it) into a succinct and simple
message of sacrificing all that one is for the greater purpose of freedom and
peace.
Number 24 is
now available on Netflix.
This review was first published in the Keizertimes on January 17th,
2025. Visit at www.keizertimes.com.
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